George Washington played presidential host to the Stanley Cup.
When the Washington Capitals won their first-ever championship over the summer, the region’s hockey fans went straight into celebratory mode. Champagne bottles were popped; Rock the Red T-shirts were worn to work; and the team headed down Constitution Avenue for a parade, standing triumphant atop an open-air sightseeing bus. The superstar players waved to thousands of jubilant fans lining the streets, but hoisted over MVP Alex Ovechkin’s head was the real star of the show: The Stanley Cup. For 100 days, Caps players and employees got to tote it around the region (and the world, with players taking it to Russia and the Czech Republic) for special appearances. Northern Virginia had its share of Stanley Cup sightings with stops at the Arlington County Police Department, Blackwall Hitch restaurant in Alexandria and MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Even George Washington got in on the act. On Oct. 5, the Stanley Cup and its handlers (yes, the 35-pound trophy has two bodyguards) traveled to Mount Vernon for a day of photo ops. No players were on hand for this particular tour stop, but the Stanley Cup created a buzz all the same. It even crashed a wine festival that was happening on the grounds of the historic home, giving NoVA’s patient hockey fans yet another reason to cheer.
